North Wootton Academy parents are worried for children’s safety due to speeding drivers

Village parents are living in fear that their children could be hurt due to speeding drivers travelling past their school.

They say changes need to be made to speed limits on roads outside North Wootton Academy.

It has led to a campaign starting to push for lower speed limits and other safety measures to protect pupils from being at risk of harm.

Parents are concerned for their children's safety outside North Wootton Academy. Picture: Google Maps

One of the parents, Laura Gray, says “enough is enough” and has called for traffic calming measures, including speed bumps and a 20mph limit.

“We know from experience that most drivers are not doing 30mph,” she said.

“There are one or two that might think speed bumps are noisy but the sound of a child getting knocked down and killed may haunt your ears a little longer.

Parents are concerned for their children's safety outside North Wootton Academy. Picture: Google Maps

“We want to encourage our children to walk to school but how can we when it’s so dangerous?”

A petition has been launched this year, calling on Norfolk County Council to investigate the situation.

John Crofts, a Liberal Democrat county councillor who represents the Freebridge Lynn ward, said: “This has my full support. Anything that can be done to make it safer for children visiting the school should be explored.”

He has pledged £3,000 of his community funding pot to support a feasibility study to investigate what changes can be made.

He believes a lack of parking spaces around the school makes the situation challenging and said the road is often busy with farming traffic from nearby sugar beet fields.

A spokeswoman for the county council has said the authority is working with villagers to find a solution.

“We are already working closely with the local community and parish council to identify ways to reduce speed in the area,” she said.

“We carefully consider all petitions submitted to us and will take a close look at the details of the request when we receive it.”